10 Ways to Lose 5 Pounds by This Weekend

Sure, a months-long healthy diet is the real key to lasting weight loss. But you can lose weight quickly and safely. Here's how

Get Regular It's not very ladylike to talk about poop, but moving those bowels is an effective route to a flat stomach and fewer pounds on that mean ol' scale. That said, this is no time to reach for the laxatives. Natural routes to regularity are your best bet for short- and long-term well being.

First up, fiber. While the recommended intake is 25 mg per day for women, Reardon suggests eating 35 to 40 g of both soluble and insoluble fiber to lighten your weight and look like you've lost 5 pounds. Both types of fiber are equally important for health, digestion, and preventing conditions like heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and constipation.

When making a food choice, however, don't worry about choosing one form of fiber or the other. Just know that soluble fibers are found in the plants you eat -- they're the parts that pass through your system undigested, delay the emptying of your stomach, and make you feel full, which helps control the munchies. This type of fiber is found in foods like oats, legumes, barley, apples, pears, and flaxseed.

On the other hand, insoluble fibers have a laxative effect and add bulk to your diet; they pass through the GI tract relatively intact, and speed up the passage of food and waste through your gut. This fiber is found mostly in grains and vegetables, including whole wheat, whole grains like barley and brown rice, zucchini, broccoli, carrots, dark leafy vegetables, and grapes.

Supplements, broken into doses throughout the day, can also help -- namely digestive enzymes taken 30 minutes before a meal to aid digestion and probiotics taken 30 minutes after a meal to help regulate bowels, says Reardon. Chelated magnesium, taken before bed, also helps with regularity.

Finally, a cup of hot water with lemon, in the morning or as a nightcap, can also get things moving. "This drink lowers the PH in your belly, which helps preserve natural probiotics and helps activate digestive enzymes," she notes. As a health bonus, all this excretion will help rid your body of toxins, excess estrogen, and lower your cholesterol levels as well.

Fantastic! The more often you eat (smaller portions and healthy foods), the more you do rev up your metabolism. Not enough can be said about movement. I started at a new school (a huge building) a few years ago and had to run the stairs to make sure I made it to classes on time. I started to lose weight and couldn't stop. Water, water, water--absolutely necessary to fill you up, help you lose weight, and keep your skin plumped and glowing!